Earnings Roundup: Lattice Semi tops estimates

Lattice Semiconductor (Nasdaq: LSCC) said reported third quarter operating earnings of $21.6 million, or 42 cents a share, on sales of $115 million. First Call consensus called for a loss of 37 cents a share.

In the same quarter a year ago, Lattice reported operating earnings of $10.5 million, or 22 cents a share, on sales of $50.2 million.

The results exclude goodwill related to the acquisition of Vantis Corp. Including goodwill, Lattice reported earnings of 16 cents a share.

The company, which makes programmable logic chips, said it was ahead of schedule with the Vantis integration and gross margins were 60 percent.

Although the earnings beat estimates, they were down from a year ago. In the same quarter a year ago, Andrew reported earnings of 28 cents a share on sales of $218 million. The company reported a strong backlog of orders and was optimistic about its market.

Natural Microsystems (Nasdaq: NMSS) reported a fourth quarter operating loss of $411,000 or 4 cents a share. First Call called for a loss of 13 cents a share. Including charges related to an acquisition and restructuring, the company reported a loss of $6 million, or 50 cents a share.

Sales for the quarter were $25 million compared to $17.5 million a year ago.

Wit Capital (Nasdaq: WITC) reported a fourth quarter loss of 10 cents a share, excluding one-time items. First Call called for a loss of 14 cents a share.

One-time items included $5.5 million in an unrealized gain and a $5.6 million writedown for technology enhancements. Without the gain, revenue for the quarter was $15.5 million. Including the unrealized gain, Wit said revenue was $21 million. Including one-time items, Wit reported a loss of 13 cents a share.

Wit benefited from a strong IPO market in 1999. The company acquired SoundView Technology and expects annual revenue to hit $200 million. The SoundView deal is expected to close at the end of the month.